In a previous post, How Safe is Tunisia for Tourists? Women?, we go into “doom and gloom” mode and talk about all of the risks that Western foreigners face in Tunisia. If you’re still deciding on whether you want to visit this amazing country because you’re concerned about safety, you may want to start there.
Even though there are very real risks to consider, and even though we have had some unpleasant experiences ourselves (sexual harassment, an iPhone pickpocketed, stomach bugs, etc.), we have, on the whole, found Tunisia to be a nice place to visit, to work, and to live.
If you have counted the cost and have decided that a trip to Tunisia is right for you, then marhababik (welcome)! We wish you the best and hope you have a safe trip.
In this post, we want to move beyond what bad things can happen in Tunisia to ask How can we respond to those risks in a responsible way? Here we compile our best tips for how to stay safe during your visit to Tunisia.
Language Barrier
In our opinion, the greatest liability for a tourist in Tunisia is not being able to communicate. Tunisians speak Arabic and French. If you only speak English, you will definitely want to have someone with you who can speak the local language, or someone you can call in Tunisia.
For those of you who don’t speak Arabic or French, consider for a moment a few of the many situations where you are MUCH LESS SAFE because of your inability to communicate:
- You get pulled over by the police in your rental car. The police officer is asking you for something but you don’t understand what he wants. He’s getting impatient.
- You’re sightseeing in a crowded market, and you get separated from your group. You look around for English speakers, but the shop owners can only say, “Come, I have very good selection.”
- Your phone gets stolen and you don’t remember any phone numbers.
- You wake up at night vomiting and with a splitting headache. If you make it to an open pharmacy, you can only point to your stomach. They offer you medicine, but you can’t read the label.
- You read on Twitter that there was a terrorist attack across town. Everyone around you is worried and trying to tell you something. You can’t get a straight answer where you’re supposed to go or what you’re supposed to do.
If you get stuck in a situation like this, it will immediately become apparent how important communication is for your safety and well-being.
We have spent years in Tunisia and have been on a lot of adventures. Abi was here in Tunis during the 2015 Bardo Museum terrorist attack. But in almost all of the times we have felt unsafe, it was because we needed to communicate but we were not able to. We can speak enough Tunisian Arabic now to get by comfortably, but in those early months and years, our lack of language was definitely our biggest liability.
As you plan your trip, try to arrange things so that there will be a translator with you. If that’s not feasible, find a trustworthy Tunisian (or a few of them) that you can call if you run into trouble. Put their numbers in your phone, or, better yet, memorize one. If you’re staying at a larger hotel, the front desk clerk may speak English and be willing to help you if you call.
Terrorist Attacks
It’s true that the chances of you falling victim to a terrorist attack are extremely low. Still, the risk is worth your attention. Government websites of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all warn of a terrorism threat. You can be sure they have good intelligence that informs them of those warnings.
Most of the safety measures that government experts recommend need to be considered before your trip. We’ll go in chronological order here, starting with things you need to be thinking about now, and ending with what to do in the moment an attack actually occurs.
Know the High Risk Areas
There are some specific locations in Tunisia, listed on the government travel advisories we linked to above, which are known to have terrorist cells. If you are planning a trip to Tunisia, please be aware of these places and plan to stay away from them.
- Western Mountains. Terrorist groups are known to operate in the mountainous regions of western Tunisia. It’s advised not to go to Chaambi Mountain National Park or within 10 km of Mount Mghila. Both of these places are around the town of Kasserine. The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all but essential travel to the whole Kasserine Governate.
- Southern Desert. You CAN go to the Sahara Desert with a tour guide in several places, such as Douz and Tozeur. However, you cannot go into the desert south of the town of Remada. It is a military zone. Looking at a map of Tunisia, that’s the long, thin piece that makes up the bottom of the country.
- Border with Algeria. You should avoid the area around the towns of Jendouba and Kasserine. The UK’s FCO advises against going within 30 km of the Algerian border in these governates. That includes the archaeological site of Chemtou. The towns of Kasserine and Jendouba are located 1.5 to 2.5 hours south of Tabarka.
- Sidi Bou Zid. This is a town in central Tunisia, 2 hours west of Sfax. In 2011, a fruit vendor lit himself on fire in protest against the government, and that was what set in motion that “Arab Spring” movement in Tunisia and several Arab countries. Terrorist groups are known to operate around Sidi Bou Zid today.
Apart from these specific locations, experts also caution against certain types of places where terrorists are more likely to attack. These include…
- Crowded areas. In both major attacks on tourists in 2015 (the Bardo Museum attack and the Sousse Beach attack) the attackers sought out places that were densely crowded with people, resulting in many casualties.
- Tourist sites. The Bardo Museum is a popular tourist destination in the capital city of Tunis. We’ve been there several times and love it. For ideological reasons, terrorists seek to attack places like this in order to harm the tourism industry. In the 2015 Bardo attack, 20 of the 24 people killed were foreigners.
- Places frequented by foreigners. Government sites say that restaurants, bars, and places of worship known to accommodate foreigners are more likely to become the target of terrorist attacks. In 2002, a suicide bomber attacked a Jewish synagogue in Djerba, killing 19 people. Fourteen of the victims were German and 2 were French.
Follow Media Updates
The UK‘s travel page for Tunisia advises that you have a way to get news updates. If an attack happens, you will want to know about it right away. There are a few ways to go about this.
- Enroll in STEP if you’re a US citizen. STEP is an acronym for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. With STEP, you log your trip with the embassy and get important alerts via email.
- Use Twitter. Your country’s embassy in Tunisia probably has a Twitter feed. The UK’s Twitter has updates in English. This can be a good source to get news and alerts relevant to travelers.
- Set up a Google Alert. Go to Google Alerts and type in “Tunisia” to get a daily digest of Tunisia-related news stories in your Gmail inbox.
Be Alert and Vigilant
All of the government travel advisories for Tunisia say something like “be alert and vigilant” or “maintain a high level of vigilance at all times.” But what does that mean? Unfortunately, the government sites don’t elaborate or tell you how to be vigilant.
Stay in the “Yellow” zone. Police and defense professionals use a tool called the Color Code of Awareness, originally developed by a famous defense trainer, Colonel Jeff Cooper. The Color Code of Awareness is a way of ranking how alert someone is to their surroundings. The different conditions of situational awareness in this code are White, Yellow, Orange and Red. Your level of awareness is determined by things like how focused you are, your heart rate, adrenaline, and ability to react to a threat. Conditional White is the mindset of someone completely unaware of their surroundings, and Condition Red is the mindset of someone who is about to fight to defend him- or herself.
Most people on vacation actually intend to stay in Condition White, where you are relaxed and unaware of what is going on around you. In Condition Yellow, however, you have bumped up to your attentiveness to be alert to your surroundings, but without being paranoid. The important thing about Condition Yellow is that if a terrorist attack took place, you wouldn’t be completely caught off guard.
With this color code in mind, watch this interview with some of the survivors of the 2015 Sousse Beach attack. You can hear from their recollections that it took them a few moments to realize an attack was happening. One man initially thought that the gunshots were fireworks. A lady says, “I just completely froze.” Another man grapples with how surprising the attack was, saying, “You can’t imagine” and “I’m on holiday! I’m on holiday!” Understandably, they were shocked and slow to realize what was going on. It’s worth asking: What would you want your mindset to be in that situation? With a little mental preparation, could you drastically improve your response to a disaster? (Please know that I’m thankful these people made it out alive, and I mean no disrespect in analyzing their words. I assume they would want others to learn from their experience.)
Condition Yellow is the place you want to be in order to respond well to a crime or terrorist attack. On vacation, people understandably want to kick back and relax. However, if you are the leader of your vacation party, consider the service you could render to your family and friends by choosing to be alert for them.
If An Attack Occurs
This video from Britain’s counter-terrorism police explains what to do during an attack. The 3 steps to remember are:
- RUN: Determine where the shooting is coming from and run away from it.
- HIDE: If you cannot run, hide. Barricade yourself if you can. Turn your phone on silent.
- TELL: Call the police only when it’s safe to do so. In Tunisia, call 197 to reach the police and 190 to call an ambulance.
The UK’s National Police Chief’s Council has these same tips in a flyer. Note that the number for the police is different in Tunisia.
The Department of Homeland Security and other US agencies alter this list slightly in their guides for what to do in an active shooter situation. Their 3 steps are:
- RUN
- HIDE
- FIGHT
Note that the “fight” option is only “a last resort when you are in immediate danger.”
Protests and Crowds
Protests and demonstrations can happen anywhere in the country and can quickly turn dangerous and violent.
Consider how the 2011 Jasmine Revolution unfolded. On December 17, 2010, a man in the central town of Sidi Bou Zid lit himself on fire in protest against the government. Protests spread quickly, and within days there were protests throughout the whole country. Within a month, police had killed hundreds of demonstrators.
Very frequently there are peaceful demonstrations in the downtown areas of cities. Every Friday in Tunis, people hold demonstrations on the main avenue downtown, Avenue Mohammed V. Government sites advise foreigners to steer clear of all protests, as well as other crowded situations.
Soccer games can get rowdy, and there is a risk of getting hurt if the celebration gets out of hand or if rival fans get into an altercation.
Kidnapping
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime does not have data on kidnapping in Tunisia. There are some indications that Tunisia is at least not among the worst countries for kidnapping. The Australian embassy website lists instances of Australians around the world being kidnapped, but it doesn’t list any examples from Tunisia.
Still, the risk of kidnapping in Tunisia does exist. The New Zealand state website, among others, says that the danger is especially great near the borders of Algeria and Libya.
There was an incident in 2008 where two Austrians were kidnapped by an Algerian terrorist organization. There is some speculation as to whether they were taken while in the southern desert of Tunisia or whether they had crossed accidentally into Algeria and were picked up there. Some government sites like the New Zealand one linked to above appear to refer to this incident.
Pickpocketing, Muggings, Robbery
As we mentioned in our previous article, petty crime is common in Tunisia. You are a lot more likely to have something stolen than you are to encounter a terrorist attack. Thankfully, these crimes usually don’t get violent.
Prevent Theft
Experienced travelers follow these common-sense tips for making yourself less vulnerable a petty crime:
- Don’t go out alone, especially at night.
- Don’t carry more valuables with you than necessary.
- Don’t drink so much that you’re not able to respond to a mugger.
- Don’t wear flashy clothing or accessories that flaunt your wealth or advertise that you have money that can be stolen.
- Walk and act in such a way that you appear confident and alert to your surroundings.
When you need to withdrawal money from an ATM, choose one that’s inside a bank, a hotel, or an airport, when possible. If you have to use an ATM on the street, have someone look out for you.
The easiest way to avoid being pickpocketed is just to not carry valuables in your pocket. My iPhone was stolen out of my front pocket on the metro in Tunis. I was wearing jeans, and the phone had a big rubber case, so I thought (mistakenly) that I would feel it if someone tried to pull it out.
After my phone was stolen, I began carrying my valuables in a drawstring sports bag like this one. When I’m in a crowded place, I wear the bag on my chest. The only way to get to my valuables is to pry open the top opening, right in front of my face, which is a lot harder than reaching into an open pocket or unzipping a zipper pocket on a backpack.
During a Mugging
This veteran mugger was interviewed on the Today Show and shares some tips on how to avoid a shady person approaching you and also what to do when someone attempts to mug you.
- If someone approaches and they look suspicious, keep moving.
- Make a scene. Make noise and draw attention to yourself in order to scare the mugger off. A veteran mugger says that he actually preferred to mug men because women were more likely to scream.
- Give them what they want. If it comes down to a choice between losing valuable property or getting hurt, choose to lose your property. The US Embassy site says that some of the muggings that occurred in Tunisia “turned violent when the victim tried to resist.”
After a Theft
Make a Police Report. Petty crime is common in Tunisia. Government websites say to report any crime to the Tunisian police. There is a police station in every city and in every neighborhood in larger cities. The phone number for the police in Tunisia is 197. Be sure that you come away with a copy of the police report after you report the crime.
Passports. If your passport is stolen, contact your embassy as soon as possible. A stolen passport is often one of the few instances of theft where your embassy can help you. Many Western countries do not have their own embassy in Tunisia. Ireland, for example, runs their diplomatic services for Tunisia out of their embassy in Madrid, Spain, while they have a Consul present in Tunis.
Bank Cards. If your wallet or bank cards are stolen, call your bank as soon as possible to put a lock on all transactions.
Rental Cars. If your rental car is stolen or burglarized, contact the rental company as soon as possible to report it.
Insurance Claims. If anything is stolen on your trip and you have travel insurance, contact your insurance company soon to make a claim.
As you consider what would happen in these scenarios, you can see the importance of knowing ahead of time the contact information for these entities!
Car Accidents
The biggest risk to any traveler in a foreign country is a car accident, according to Security Magazine. This figure rings true for Tunisia as well. The US State Department website has a feature where you can look up all confirmed US deaths overseas. I searched Tunisia from 2011 through 2019 and it listed 5 recorded deaths, all of which were caused by vehicle accidents.
To help you stay safe on the road, we go into more detail in our our post on driving tips for foreigners in Tunisia. But here are a few bullet points to remember:
- Have your passport and driver’s license with you
- Have an accident report form and a blue pen
- Have someone you can call to translate for you
- Have your carte grise (vehicle ownership card)
- Have your insurance papers
- Know that pedestrians, mopeds, and crazy drivers will pull out in front of you a lot
Encounters with Police
All of our encounters with police have been pleasant or neutral. They do not speak English. If you don’t speak Arabic or French, you should have someone that you can call who can translate for you.
Police officers and national guardsmen frequently set up checkpoints on the roads, both in town and on the highways between towns. The Canadian embassy site notes that they often pull over rental cars, which are distinguished by their license plates.
If you break a law in Tunisia, you can be deported or taken to jail, even if you were not aware of the law.
If you are taken into custody by Tunisian police, the first thing you should do is to ask that they contact your embassy.
When you visit small towns like Douz or Tozeur to take a guided tour into the desert, your guide will probably take you to get registered at the police station. The police will photocopy your passports to have a record of what foreigners are in the vicinity and for how long.
Dangers for Women
Abi has shared a lot of her personal experiences and tips in other posts. A few points to remember are…
- Travel in groups, preferably with a local
- Swimwear is OK if you’re on the beach in a touristy area
For Abi’s first-hand experiences with unwanted attention and harassment, see the section “Dangers for Women” in our other safety post. For an in-depth discussion of what to wear at the beach to avoid unwanted attention, see her post on bikinis.
Medical Emergencies
Whether you’re riding ATV’s in the desert, tasting exotic foods, or just walking down the busy streets, there are unfortunately a number of ways to get seriously injured or sick in Tunisia.
Medical care in Tunisia is, for the most part, good. We have heard a number of our expat friends say that the doctors are great, but the nurses are not so good. Most doctors speak Arabic and French, but you can also find doctors that speak English fluently. We’ll list some in the “Minor Medical Issues” section.
If you have a medical emergency and you need an ambulance in Tunisia, dial 190. This is the equivalent of dialing 911 in the US. The number 190 connects you to SAMU (Les Services d’aide Medicale Urgente), which is Tunisia’s Ministry of Urgent Medical Services.
The US Embassy site also lists some options for private ambulance companies. All of them are in Tunis:
- Apollo Ambulances 71-843-434 or 98-358-916
- Allo Docteur-Allo Ambulance 71-780-000 or 71-781-000 or 71-959-000 or 71-959-200
- Ambulance Echifa 71-585-999 or 98-243-552 or 71-502-000
- Nour Ambulance 20-749-000 or 28-759-000 or 98-335-275
US Citizens take note: While medical care even at private clinics is generally a lot cheaper in Tunisia than in the US, an emergency can still cost a lot of money. Please know that Medicare and Medicaid do not cover medical expenses overseas. Also, health insurance policies in the US differ as to whether they will cover you while overseas. Find out before your trip whether your policy will cover you. If they will not, you can buy a short-term, supplemental travel health insurance policy.
Minor Medical Issues
Precautions
The most common medical ailments that we and our expat friends suffer are stomach bugs (viral gastroenteritis) and traveler’s diarrhea. Here are the ways that we prevent this:
- Bottled water. We wrote a whole post about the water in Tunisia. You will probably be fine drinking tap water, but since bottled water is so cheap and easy to find, you should probably stick with that.
- Stay away from fresh vegetables. I highly suspect fresh salads from street-food restaurants to be the culprit in at least 2 of the 3 times I’ve caught a stomach bug in Tunisia. Abi explains alternatives to fresh salads in our other post.
- Stay away from raw eggs. Abi explains here that raw eggs go into some of Tunisia’s most popular dishes. You can ask the cook at any restaurant to cook the eggs all the way through and they will happily comply.
- Wash your hands with soap. This should be second nature now in our post-COVID-19 world. Many Tunisian foods are eaten with your hands. All restaurants, big and small, have a public sink for washing hands. You may want to bring your own travel-sized bottle of soap because they will probably be sharing a bar of soap at that sink.
Pharmacies & Medicines
Tunisian pharmacies are in every neighborhood in bigger cities. The labels on products are almost 100% in French, and pharmacists typically don’t speak English. Pharmacists can help you find the right medicine for common ailments, but you will want to have a translator.
If you need to visit a pharmacy in the middle of the night, ask a local where you can find a “night pharmacy.” There is usually one pharmacy in a given area or neighborhood that stays open all night, or the pharmacies will be on a rotation, taking turns which one stays open at night.
We recommend bringing your own favorite remedies for common illnesses like colds, allergies, and stomach issues, since Tunisian pharmacies may not have exactly what you want.
If you come down with a stomach bug (viral gastroenteritis), the go-to medicine in Tunisia is Smecta (Diosmectite). It’s a white box with blue letters, and there will be individual packets of a powder that you mix with water. This study measures Smecta’s efficacy. We have both used it during stomach sicknesses and I really think it alleviated the pain.
The few times that I’ve gone to the doctor to get a prescription, the medicines from the pharmacy were inexpensive compared to the US.
Hospitals, Clinics, Doctors
Foreigners usually go to the private hospitals (cliniques). As Abi explains in our other post, we usually go to the Urgent Care in Clinique Jasmine in Tunis. We’ve always had a good experience there.
Most doctors do not speak English fluently. If you want to set up an appointment with an English-speaking doctor, the US Embassy site has a long list of general practitioners and specialists with their contact information. Here are a few general practitioners that speak English:
- Dr. Leila Ennabli Makhlouf 71-875-141 or 22-604-274
- Dr. Mohamed Enys Chérif 71-980-600 or 98-318-142
- Dr. Solange Laroussi 71- 254-435 or 71-343-753
We can personally vouch for Dr. Leila Makhlouf (she goes by Dr. Leila). We’ve seen her for care a number of times and we’ve always had a good experience.
Travel Insurance
The Australian government says, “Travel insurance is just as essential as your passport,” and, “If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel.”
There are three types of insurance to consider before booking your trip: travel health insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and emergency medical evacuation insurance. Many policies will cover more than one of these three things. Make sure you know exactly what activities and care your policy covers.
For government resources on travel insurance, you can go here to the US Center for Disease Control’s travel insurance information page. Australians can go to the government website which will lead you to CHOICE for consumer reviews of different travel insurance companies and policies.
Pre-Trip Safety Checklist
We know there’s a LOT of information to take in when it comes to being safe on your trip to Tunisia. To wrap up this post, we made a checklist of things to do or think about before your embark on your trip.
- Find a trusted translator you can call for help while in Tunisia
- Talk with your travel party about the remote possibility of a terrorist attack
- Memorize with your travel party the three steps to take during a terrorist attack: RUN, HIDE, TELL
- Notify your country’s Embassy of your trip
- Americans: Sign up for Smart Traveler Enrollment Program
- Buy a traveler’s insurance policy and know what it covers
- Notify your banks
- Know your bank card’s PIN number
- Know Tunisia’s emergency phone numbers (or put them in your phone):
- 190 for ambulance
- 197 for police
- Safely store or memorize contact info for…
- Your hotel or host
- Local translator
- Your country’s embassy in Tunisia
- Family and friends to contact in an emergency
- Travel agent
- Travel insurance provider
- Airline
- Safely store or memorize login info for…
- Your devices’ cloud service (iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox)
- Social media accounts (if you need to contact people using someone else’s device)
- Your online bank account
- Get breaking news alerts for Tunisia on your phone via Social Media or Email
- Share travel itineraries with trusted friends
- Don’t post your locations on social media
- Put strong passwords on your devices (in case of theft)
- Back up your phone and computer to the cloud (in case of theft)
- Activate the Find My Phone features on your devices
- Make photocopies of your passports & keep them in different places
- Plan where you will store your valuables when they’re not with you
- Plan where you will keep your valuables when they are with you (NOT in your back pocket)
You can download a PDF of this checklist here.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Doing all of these things will not ensure your safety. Also, remember that nothing should replace the strict adherence to the travel advisories and tips from your country’s embassy in Tunisia.
We hope this post gets you pointed in the right direction for an incident-free experience in Tunisia. Here’s to a safe trip for you and your travel party!
